Mauritian observers
It was not just the people of Karnataka who were closely observing the counting process on Wednesday. At the counting centre in Mount Carmel College, a government delegation from Mauritius was keenly observing the proceedings. Though no one from the 10-member delegation spoke to the media, reporters were told that they were there to learn about the election process. Needless to say, the team drew curious stares from party workers all through their 25-minute stay before they were escorted out of the venue.
‘Cracker’ of a defeat
By mid-morning it had become amply clear which party would form the new government. But even so, faithful Congress workers at the party headquarters on Queen’s Road, refused to light the firecrackers they had stocked up here for this very occasion. They even reprimanded those who approached the stack hoping to celebrate the imminent victory with some sound and light.
When a perplexed television reporter asked what the fuss was about, one worker said: “Sir, our party president (G. Parameshwara) is trailing. It will not look nice if we burst crackers now.”
Ironically however, minutes after the confirmation of Mr. Parameshwara’s defeat to the JD(S) nominee, the Congress workers thought it fit to finally celebrate the party’s victory. So off went the crackers, almost as if in response to the KPCC president’s defeat.
Son, you’ll be a bachelor boy
The wealthy Priya Krishna, who has retained his seat in the Govindarajnagar constituency, is touted as the most eligible bachelor in political circles. But the 29-year-old Congress MLA made it amply clear that marriage was the last thing on his mind. When reporters asked his father, Vijayanagar MLA M. Krishnappa, when he planned to get his son hitched, he confidently replied: “This year.” And on a sterner note added: “I will kick him and get him married this year.”
But the son shrugged off his father’s threat. “I have been elected the second time. This brings in more responsibility. So not now, there’s still time to get married.”
Truthfully trounced
Tejaswini Gowda, Congress candidate for Bangalore South, who visited the counting centre at the VHD Central Institute of Home Science, had probably assumed that she could ride the party’s victorious wave.
But when she found out that she had lost to M. Krishnappa of the BJP, she could only wax eloquent about her “honesty”. Every one of the votes that went in her favour was “honestly earned” she told television channels.
“I bagged 63,849 votes and every single vote from this section of voters is pavitra (pure) for me. Not a single vote has been bought and I am glad,” she said, adding that she did not want to damage her party’s image by elaborating on the reasons for her defeat.
A change at the helm?
The various counting centres in the city were fortified on Wednesday, but not so much their surroundings. On a day when party workers were creating chaos on the streets, miscreants found the perfect chance to make merry in their midst.
Party workers and mediapersons who had parked their two-wheelers outside the counting centre at Mount Carmel College returned to their vehicles to find their helmets stolen. Obviously, a change at the ‘helm’ had a whole different meaning.
